Tang San quietly followed the demonic cultivators out of the ruined city and made his way to a river valley beyond it. Sure enough, he found over a hundred black-robed demonic cultivators gathered there.
Black and crimson Demonic Qi surged around their leader. He was a Golden Core cultivator who called himself Soul-Devouring Zhenren.
"Hmm? Why is there an extra one?"
Soul-Devouring Zhenren swept his cloudy eagle eyes over the area and instantly spotted Tang San's hiding place.
"Hmph!" He snorted coldly, and the hundred demonic cultivators in the valley fell silent at once.
Tang San's heart tightened. He had just activated his Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul, hoping to suppress his presence further, when he saw the black-robed leader casually raise a palm in his direction.
A suction force so powerful he could not resist it sprang into existence. Before Tang San could react, his whole body was lifted uncontrollably into the air.
He landed hard on the bluestone altar in the middle of the valley, sending up a speck of long-dried, dark-brown blood.
That single move instantly threw everyone on the Douluo Continent watching the sky screen into an uproar.
In Shrek Square, Ning Rongrong clapped a hand over her mouth. "Th-that... what kind of technique is that? He can pull someone over without even touching them?"
"Seizing someone out of thin air and immobilizing them with a wave of his hand... could these be the legendary powers that only gods possess? Could this man be a god?" Ning Fengzhi said, trembling.
In Spirit Hall's Worship Hall, Qian Daoliu's hand stopped stroking his white beard, and his expression grew grave.
"In my nearly two hundred years of life, I have never seen anyone control another person with such effortless skill. Even I, a Peerless Douluo, could not capture a Soul Master without touching them in the slightest."
"This man's cultivation is at least at rank ninety-nine. He may even have reached the threshold of godhood." Qian Daoliu had not expected a person Tang San happened to encounter to possess such terrifying cultivation.
Just what kind of world was this?
Tang San, sprawled on the altar, tasted sweetness in his throat and forcibly swallowed the blood that had risen there. The stormy waves surging in his heart were even fiercer than those among the people of the Douluo Continent.
He had made it through Slaughter City, where ten went in and none came out, and his Divine Slaughter's Domain remained condensed around him. In this life, apart from Tang Hao and a few Titled Douluo of Spirit Hall, no one had ever subdued him so effortlessly.
That formidable ability made him realize at once that he was absolutely no match for the man.
When in another land, follow its customs; seek good fortune and avoid disaster. The Tang Sect's teachings were carved into Tang San's bones. Rather than fight back, he immediately pushed himself up from the ground and bent at the waist, lowering his posture as far as he could. With just the right note of respect in his voice, he opened his mouth and began to flatter the man.
"This junior is Tang San. I happened to pass by this place. Having long heard of Senior's divine might, I was overcome with admiration and wished to behold you. I feared disturbing you, however, so I hid to the side and dared not approach rashly. I beg Senior's forgiveness."
Soul-Devouring Zhenren looked him up and down. His dazzling ice-blue hair stood out among the black- and gray-robed demonic cultivators. After sniffing the killing aura he gave off, Soul-Devouring Zhenren's formerly taut face relaxed instead. He stroked his beard and laughed.
"So you're a little cultivator who admires this old man. I thought you were a spy from some righteous sect. But your killing aura is far too mottled. Could it be that you have no cultivation technique to guide it?"
Soul-Devouring Zhenren saw that Tang San was only at the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining, yet he had such a conspicuous killing aura. One glance was enough to tell that he was not an orthodox demonic cultivator.
After all, although demonic cultivators killed people, they did not release their killing aura carelessly. Everyone wanted demonic cultivators dead; if they released their killing aura carelessly, would that not be inviting the righteous cultivators' attention?
Thus, ordinary demonic cultivation techniques all came with the ability to conceal one's killing aura, but Tang San had no such ability. Clearly, he had taken up cultivation halfway through life, and there was no need to guard against someone like him.
Tang San's eyes lit up. A cultivation technique? Could this immortal be about to teach me one?
"Senior is truly worthy of his status. You saw this junior's problem at a glance. I beg you not to withhold your guidance." Tang San hurriedly bowed and pleaded.
When the people of the Douluo Continent saw this, the square instantly fell silent, and many wore strange expressions.
Tang San was, after all, the core of the Shrek Seven Devils and had always hated evil with a passion. Now he was humbly flattering a devil who had massacred a city. It was hard to justify, to say the least.
Many eyes involuntarily turned to Yu Xiaogang, waiting to see what he would say.
Who would have thought that Yu Xiaogang would show not the slightest shame? Instead, his face was full of excitement, and he thrust out his chest farther than anyone.
"As expected of the fine disciple I, Yu Xiaogang, taught! Well done!"
Everyone was stunned. Yu Xiaogang stroked a beard that did not exist, his face brimming with pride in his disciple's achievement.
"What do you know? What sort of person was that man just now? He was a powerful being who could control someone from a distance with a casual wave!" Yu Xiaogang looked at the crowd with disdain, wearing the expression of a man who alone was sober while everyone else was drunk.
"Anyone else would have been so frightened their legs turned to jelly and they couldn't stand. But Little San? Calm and collected, he assessed the situation, won the other party's trust with a few words, and saved his life. He may even obtain the cultivation technique the man mentioned. Could something belonging to a god be ordinary?"
"What is this? This is knowing when to yield and when to stand firm, and going with the flow, just as I taught him. It is the most important lesson in my ten core competencies of Martial Souls!" Yu Xiaogang's face was flushed with excitement.
That was something belonging to a god. Once Little San returned, surely he, as his teacher, could use it too? When that time came, perhaps he could become a god as well!
But seeing everyone's expressions, Yu Xiaogang also knew those words were somewhat inappropriate. After a pause, he tried to make up for them. "Do you really think Tang San was afraid? Wrong! Completely wrong!"
"What sort of person is Tang San? He's a good child who has endured hardships since childhood and holds justice in his heart. He's infiltrating the enemy camp alone!"
"Think about it. The other party is so strong that Tang San would die if he attacked rashly. If he died, how could he get rid of that devil? How could he get to the bottom of this other world?"
"He's enduring hardship for the moment to accomplish something great. Which of you could do the same in his place? Only my Tang San has the temperament for it!"
Only then did everyone's expressions soften. Flender and Liu Erlong immediately chimed in from the side. "Xiaogang sees things clearly! None of us thought of that just now!"
Ning Fengzhi stroked his beard, smiled, and nodded. Even though he felt that Yu Xiaogang was gilding his own face, he still gave the man ample face.
"Grandmaster is right. Tang San's ability to adapt is indeed rarely seen in this world. To have been taught so well by Grandmaster is already a tremendous achievement."
The people who had originally been somewhat doubtful instead felt that Yu Xiaogang's words really did make sense. They nodded and praised him one after another, commending Yu Xiaogang for his skilled teaching and Tang San for his foresight.
Yu Xiaogang's heart blossomed with joy at their words, his vanity satisfied as never before. He pointed at the sky screen and roared with laughter.
"Just you watch! Before long, Tang San will gain a firm foothold in this other world. In the future, Tang San will surely attain godhood in this other world. I, Yu Xiaogang, taught a true god!"